Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"I think engineering will supply our demand for a "spiritual" life after meat death."
- Bart Kosko
 |
| Veridicator | ||
| A device that measured physiologic responses (biometric data) and translated it to a set of colors that unerringly reported whether or not the measured person was telling the truth. |
This forgotten gem of a novel from the 1960's makes good use of a machine that unerringly tells whether or not the person believes what he or she is saying. The notion of dealing truthfully with yourself and your society is an important theme in the novel, and is an important idea for us in our world today.
| There was a bright conical helmet on his head, and electrodes had been clamped to various portions of his anatomy. On the wall behind him was a circular screen which ought to have been a calm turquoise blue, but which was flickering from dark blue through violet to mauve. That was simple nervous tension and guilt and anger at the humiliation of being subjected to veridicated interrogation. |
| From Little Fuzzy,
by H. Beam Piper. Published by Doubleday in 1962 Additional resources -
|
Would you behave differently if you knew that, at need, you could be veridicated? Would you live your entire life differently, if you knew that people could tell, without fail, whether or not you believed what you said? I think that the author believed that a life lived truthfully was a better life, and a more sentient, more civilized life.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 2 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Little Fuzzy
More Ideas
and Technology by H. Beam Piper
Tech news articles related to Little Fuzzy
Tech news articles related to works by H. Beam Piper
Veridicator-related
news articles:
- Blob Analysis Key To Next Generation Computerized Lie Detectors
- Cheaters May No Longer Prosper
| Lizard Squad, Nihilistic Technofetishists For Hire |
| CoBots - Collaborative Robots Ask Humans For Help |
| Neuromorphic Brain-Chip Takes Flight |
| 'Hello, Computer!' Intel's Core M Catches Up To Scotty |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
'An entirely new being but exactly like the old one'
'The water flowed off those walls without binding tension.'
'They wouldn't dare let the Fuzzies be proven sapient...'
'This was the center of Interplanetary Communications.'
